Obligations
by narratekate
Summary: He left me to fend for myself and now his arch rival has taken me in. Oh the irony.
1. Chapter 1

**...My first straight couple fanfic... wow I feel... WEIRD... .**

The club was dark and filled with smoke. Small round tables cluttered the room around the stage and on one side there was a long bar where several shady figures sat. Loud, drunken men were singing off key while another group threw dollar bills onto the stage.

I walked over to the empty end of the bar and sat down on my usually chair.

"Vodka…" I said to Charlie. "Cherry vodka."

He nodded and picked a glass from under the counter. I watched as he took the blue bottle out and poured the clear liquid from it slowly into my glass. When it was full he dropped in a cherry and slid it over to me. I caught it easily and looked down into it to see the cherry at the bottom. _Do I really need it? Is it really good for me to just drown my problems? _I thought solemnly. _Yes. _Downing half of the glass I set it back down with a thunk and looked up at the bartender. He raised a brow as if to ask me what was wrong.

"I don't know anymore Charlie." I said to the silent man. He began cleaning a glass for something to do as he leaned back and listened to me. "I've been here for six years and I've accomplished nothing. Nothing what so ever." The liquor seeped through my veins slowly but it wasn't enough. I drank the other half of my drink and wasted no time fishing the cherry out of the bottom. I ate it slowly, savoring the fact that I was now immune to it. Charlie poured me another, knowing I would want it. He got me, Charlie did. He really understood me. He also knew that I was the only person who could go through seven bottles of vodka before I got wasted.

I took a sip of my second drink. "What should I do? Should I just give up here and leave?" He nodded his head slowly like he was thinking.

"No Zim… I don't think you should leave quite yet." Charlie kept on cleaning that glass and I kept drinking my drink.

"What's left here for me though?" I questioned.

"Give it a few more weeks. I'm sure you'll find a reason to stay."

I bobbed my head and finished off my second glass with a motion for Charlie to refill it. He dumped the rest of the bottle into my glass and tossed it into the trash. I shook my head, how many times had I told him to recycle? How easy was it just to throw away that glass bottle and the others to be reused, if it was only to make their home planet a little healthier? **(Subliminal Message : Recycling is good. :D) **I took my glass and turned to look at the stage. A busty blonde was bopping around in something pink and frilly like she was a Playboy bunny, She wished. She wished she was actually getting good money for being a whore, instead of just scraping by. I took a long drink as the music stopped and she walked off stage.

"And now gentlemen, for a special act…" a disembodied voice sounded through the bar.

I watched absent-mindedly as a slinky figure walked from behind the black curtains. My eyes widened as I recognized the girl decked out in black lace and leather. I swallowed the vodka guiltily as she prowled over to the metal pole in the center stage and traced a hand over it considering, with much too much familiarity. I caught the gaze of her thickly black lined eyes and she jerked her head away so all I could see was her long violet hair. One pale leg slung around the pole and she pulled herself up slowly and cattishly. She twirled and flipped and danced all over until I was almost sick with fascination. The dance wasn't girly and boppy like the others. It was serious, dark and seductive in the scariest way. It felt like a demon was courting you and it took all your will power not to sin with her.

It felt like hours of agonizing torture that she was up there. Shame twisted in my abdomen for watching. Other men cheered and whistled as she turned in a spectacularly vulgar move. Someone down on the ground beckoned and she came to the edge of the stage. A large hand tucked a bill in her tiny panties and gave her a pat on the chest.

I clenched my fist and tossed the money for the liquor to Charlie. Stalking through the table I went up to the stage and leapt on easily. Fueled by pure anger I grabbed her thin wrist and yanked her to me.

"What are you doing her Gaz?" I demanded softly. The entire club was silent except for the still raunchy music playing, even the singing drunks had gone quiet because they could sense the tension.

"I-I'm taking care of myself, that's what." She seemed startled by me but even when she was scared she was as scary as a poisonous… something… big, yes. Scary like something big and poisonous. She yanked her hand away from me and glared a hole in my face.

I shook my head and chuckled darkly. "You call this taking care of yourself?" It came out more sarcastic than I meant but it worked in my favor. Her glare softened and she looked away ashamed.

"It's the only way I can…" My heart twisted when I figured out what she meant. I took her wrist again, much softer this time and began to lead her towards the door. The venom instantly flared up and I tightened my grip.

"Where are you taking me?" She protested trying to take back her stolen limb.

"You're coming home with me. This is no place for you." I said curtly, continuing to pull her along.

"I'm fine, I'm old enough to look after myself!" She snapped pulling her arm more viciously.

I turned on my heel, put my face close to her and growled. "And how old is that Gaz? Sixteen? Maybe seventeen?" I said stretching out the maybe.

She locked her jaw and tried to burn a hole in my head.

"That's what I thought." I said much softer, and continued to pull her towards the door. She followed more docilely this time. I think I had hurt her pride. Outside the bar and away from prying eyes I remembered that all she had on was a few scraps of lace and go-go boots. I turned and looked back at her.

"Um…" I averted my eyes sheepishly away from the lecherous costume. "Where are your clothes?"

"In my room." She muttered quietly, also avoiding eye contact.

I didn't want to risk giving her a chance to get away from me. "We'll get them tomorrow." And with that I pulled off my long maroon tunic and handed it over to her. She stared at it blankly. "Take it." I said giving it a shake. I was trying not to shiver but I couldn't help it.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, taking the shirt gingerly. I watched as she slipped it over her lithe frame. It came down almost to her knees, where on me it came mid-thigh. I almost snickered when she tried to push back the sleeves that were covering her hands. She looked adorable and somewhat strange in an Irken uniform. Irkens had a slightly different figure, not to mention I was male, so she made it curve in all the wrong places… but it looked so damn good on her.

"Here." I pulled her hand to me and I rolled up the sleeves so she could use her hands. Then I gripped her wrist tight. "Can I trust you to walk to the base with me without running away?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I won't run away… You didn't answer my question. Why are you doing this?" She opened her eyes wide to look at me.

I thought about it for a minute while I twitched occasionally from the cold. It felt weird standing in the middle of a snow covered street with my bare green chest showing. "I don't know." I answered simply.

She shrugged. "Well come on. Let's go before you get hypothermia or something." She started walking away from the bar and I laughed.

"You're going the wrong direction." I called out to her. She stopped and turned to look at me.

"I knew that." She jogged to catch up to me as I started walking the right way. Our feet crunched in the snow, my feet leaving one hole each hers leave two because of the thick high heels. Soon my shoulders fell into a rhythmic shaking pattern because I was so cold. Every so often I would catch her throwing a guilty glance my way. She felt bad that she was warm and I was freezing. Then she cocked her head as she looked at me.

"You don't have nipples." She stated blatantly. I stared down at my perfectly smooth chest and felt my brows pinch together. I pulled my arms up defensively to cover my flawless chest.

"Why would I have such useless nubs?" I said trying to make my voice disgusted. I rolled my eyes and looked away from her.

"I dunno." She said looking away too. "Everyone else has them though."

I frowned. "Yes but I'm not human so I have no need for pointless attachments such as 'nipples'."

"Too che." And that was the end of that conversation.

After another twenty minutes we finally got to my street and I saw the base at the end of the coul-de-sac. My body tense at the warmth that it knew was coming.

I burst in the door with a sigh of relief only to be attacked by cold metal.

"HI MASTER!" The metallic screech came.

"Eh… Hi GIR." I grumbled. I heard the door close and I turned to look at her.

She looked around the base calmly. "Where am I sleeping?" She asked.

I got up slowly and rubbed the back of my neck. Where was she going to sleep? I usually crashed on the couch… Damn it.

"Uh, I don't really have a bed so you can, uh, have the couch." Looked like it would be a long night in my computer chair.

She nodded. "And where will you sleep?" God, she just had to ask huh?

"Erm, in my computer chair…" I looked away to stare into a corner.

"We're both sleeping on the couch then." She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Nooooooo." I shook my head and watched her roll her eyes.

"Zim, I've slept with countless people when I don't even know their name. I think I can manage the night on the couch with someone I've known forever." I could really tell she meant it by the way she stated it clearly as if she were reading it from a book of facts. GIR giggled quietly from under the table.

I looked at her with a light blush. "Are you sure?"

"Damn positive. Now come lay down." She ordered.

I hunched my shoulders and shuffled over the pink couch where I took a seat awkwardly. With another roll of her eyes she shoved me into a vertical position and clambered on top of me with no hesitance at all. I gasped at the suddenness but got used to it quickly and moved a bit until I was comfortable. After a few moments of this I could hear her breath even out as she fell asleep.

I closed my eyes and tried my best to fall asleep too.


	2. Chapter 2

**:) My muse has finally come back to me for this story and I have written chapter two! Lucky for you folks I've got some ideas for chapter three and I'll get it typed up in the next week hopefully.**

**Also I'd just like to mention, that everything I write is un-betaed and not redrafted. Everything I put out is a first draft. **

Sweat. I hate sweat. A lot, and even though I hate sweat it seems like I'm always covered in it. It happens when I'm on stage doing a show. It happens when a guy offers to take me to his room and I get nervous, even though it's just a job. Even when I'm doing my job, when the guy is pounding into me there's sweat. And the worst kind? The worst kind of sweat is when I wake up in someone's arms and my sweat is all mixed up with theirs. It's just another thing that I despise, just one more annoyance that puts me in a bad mood in the morning. So when I woke up on Zim's purple couch with his lanky green arms around me, it was no surprised we were both sweaty. Even if I was expecting it I hated it. It reminded me of all the other mornings I had gotten up with a stranger in my bed, the mornings where I woke up soaked in someone else's body fluid. With a vicious growl I shoved Zim away from me and turned to get off the sofa.

I heard him yelp when he fell on the floor and was woken up, but I just stepped over him. As I walked into the kitchen I sensed the glare he shot at me. I looked around the kitchen for a way down to the lab. When I was younger I had been here before and I had found my way down there. Now I couldn't remember how though, which made me even more enraged because I wanted to wash the grime off my body right this minute. With another growl of anger I kicked the garbage can with one of my slick black gogo boots. To my surprise an elevator came up. Stepping into it Zim called out from behind me.

And where do you think you're going?" I easily caught the irritation in his voice. After all these years he still must not like having people sneaking around his base. _Well too fucking bad. _I thought.

"I'm going to go shower." I muttered, turning around. He was still shirtless and his skin was coated in a sheen of sweat too. I hope he didn't think I was disgusting because we were both sweaty.

"Mmm, and would you like me to show you where the cleansing facilities are? Maybe find you some clothes to wear, or would you rather just wander around?" He said it somewhat sarcastically, but I knew he meant it sincerely too. I lowered my eyes to look at the ground. _Why the hell is he being so nice to me?_ I thought bitterly. _I'm a dirty whore, a prostitute. I argued with him when he was trying to help me. For god sake I just pushed him out of bed a few minutes ago! I don't deserve this at all. _

"Why are you doing this?" I snapped. _God can I ever say something without sounding like a bitch?_

He raised a nonexistent brow. "What do you mean?" Still nice. He wouldn't even yell back at me.

"Why are you helping me? Why did you bring me home with you, why are you being so nice to me and acting like we're friends? I haven't seen you for years! Besides, I'm just a fucking slut, I don't deserve this!" I screamed it at him, I felt the angry tears well up in my eyes and I squeezed them shut. With shuddering breaths I felt him grip my shoulders.

"Gaz." He said sternly, the same voice he had used when asking me what I was doing in a strip club. "You are not a slut and if you ever say it again I'll…"

"You'll what? Throw me on the streets?" I hissed. Of course he would.

"Not a chance. I'll be very upset."

My eyes rolled without my consent. "You're so formal."

He just looked at me with his bright crimson eyes. It was like Zim was studying me. I didn't look in his eyes, I just stared at his green, nippless chest.

"Could you please show me to the shower?" I whispered.

"Yes." He arms dropped from my shoulders and he moved around me to step into the elevator.

A few minutes later I was stepping into a bath of light pink goo. With a heavy sigh I sat down and let my body slid so that I was neck deep in it. It's been ages since I took a bath. I've always been more of a shower person but Zim says that he doesn't have one. Only a bath and cleansing chalk. I think I've forgotten what a bath feels like. This one isn't quite a normal bath though, I can feel the gel suctioning to my every curve and it smells like cherries and Febreeze. Being in the bath gives me time to think. On the counter is one of Zim's old uniforms for me to wear. He said when I'm done we're going to go get my things. It's not fair of him to just take me in. I mean he doesn't even have a reason and there is nothing in it for him. I've never been one to understand people's kindness and it makes even less sense when such kindness is coming from an alien who once was trying to take over Earth. I'm not so sure that's what he's doing anymore though… I'll have to ask him about those things later but for now I just try to enjoy my bath.

It's cold outside and most of the snow has melted and frozen over into ice. My feet slip in my heels as I walk down the street with Zim. Every time my foot jerks to the side and I start to topple he catches me though. After the fifth episode he just keeps his arm around my waist. It feels awkward to me; people probably think we're a couple. We have matching outfits, he's touching me. But he doesn't seem to mind, that or after all these years he just still doesn't get it.

I sigh with relief when the bar comes into sight. Soon I'll have my own clothes to wear and my sneakers so that I'm not sliding around. When we get to the door I fumble with my keys and try to unlock the door. My fingers were clumsy because of the cold though and it was hard. After a minute or two's attempt Zim's gloved hand covers mine.

"Here." He said as he took the keys and unlocked the door smoothly.

I took my keys back and opened the door. "Thanks." I mumbled.

The building was emptier than I've ever seen it and I lived here. I don't even think Charlie is here right now. As I walk past the stage to the back rooms with Zim behind me I wonder how somebody like Charlie hired me. He's such a nice guy, almost like a grandfatherly figure, yet he hired me to be a stripper. A seventeen year old girl. I shook my head, I wonder if he was drunk and just didn't have the heart to fire me in the morning or if perhaps he was a pervert. When I got to my room and opened the door I took a deep breath. This was probably the last time I would ever seen this room. That's all it was, one room. A bed, a dresser, and a small stand with a tiny TV. Countless memories are here. Many bad ones, some alright ones, and maybe one or two good ones. As I grab my duffel bag from under my bed I think about how many nights I laid on that bed with people whose names I didn't know and all the other nights that I just stayed up and watched Desperate Housewives. I felt Zim's eyes watching me as I unzipped my bad and began shoving clothes from the dresser into it. It took me less than a second to decide that I would leave all my costumes here. I didn't want them and I wouldn't need them. Once the duffel was full of all my real clothes I grabbed my oversized purse from the door handle. I'd had it since before my dad had kicked me out. With once fell swoop I pushed all my makeup and perfume and my few books off the dresser into my bag. One bottle was still there. I picked it up gingerly and looked at it. It was my favorite perfume, Saint by Kat Von D. Of course I hadn't bought it though, a regular customer had. His name was Franklin. Old and overweight he was all in all not someone who one would want to have sex with. But I did it because not only did he pay me he brought me little gifts, such as the perfume. I set it in the bag lightly and pulled it over my shoulder.

With a look at Zim I picked up my duffel bag in the other hand. "I'm ready."

"Is that all?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah… Dad didn't let me take much when he kicked me out." I frowned and looked away from him when I said this. In fact the only things I still had from my childhood was my purse and the things that had been in it.

"Oh… Well, come on then." He said and he reached out and took my duffel bag. I let him take it and we left the club.

"Wait!" I said as I ran back inside.

"What?" He yelled after me.

"I've got to write Charlie a note so he knows I didn't get kidnapped or something." I said as I grabbed a piece of paper from under the bar. Zim watched me from the doorway. After I had written my note I locked up and I looked away. As we walked down the street I didn't even look back.

**Reviews feed Gazzie so that she doesnt go back on the streets!**


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